weight loss wisdom.....sort of

 Okay so here it is.  A mommy blogging about weight loss.  The picture on the left was taken mid October of 2011.  The picture on the right was taken end of December 2011, 30 pounds lighter.

I feel like one of those women that says, "I lost 30 pounds in two in a half months"  but I did!!!!  I didn't join a diet program.  I didn't even go on a "diet".  Here is the big kicker,  I haven't really started exercising yet. I never started this journey to lose weight, it was just an added benefit that came along with it.   So....how did it happen????    Well have you ever heard the saying, "you are what you eat" ?       I'm guessing that you know which picture is me posing as a number two value meal from McDonald's......

So here is my big secret......        I'm allergic to eggs, wheat, and dairy.....after I took wheat out of my diet (eggs and dairy were already out  )  I lost 11 lbs of fluid  in a week.  The pounds came off from there.   I now sleep through the night and no longer have pain or stiffness in any of my joints.   There is more to it than that though.  It all makes sense in my mind but I am trying to figure out how to tell you without you thinking that I have gone totally nuts!!!

A long lost friend introduced me to a web site that saved  my life!!  Literally!!  It was shortly after my ambulance ride to the hospital when I contacted her and she threw this website at me as a , "well maybe this might help" kind of thing.    It is all about eating right according to your blood type. 

For years I have tried to lose weight.  I hurt all of the time.  I stayed at the chiropractor, up until he told me that there really wasn't anything more they could do to help me.  I would literally walk out of the door and fall out of adjustment. I was in and out of depression. I never slept through the night without waking up with pain. My back hurt, my neck hurt, my wrists hurt my hips were killing me, most of the time.   My knees,.......... well don't get me started on my knees.  I was in so much pain that it hurt if you even touched me.  I had so much inflammation in my joints that I was in constant pain.  I would fight through the pain and exercise anyway.  On average I was loosing around 5 pounds a month or less. 

I started reading the information on this web site.  Then everything started to make sense.  No I wasn't eating alot of fat, but I wasn't eating the things that were boosting my metabolism either. 

So let me just start now with different view on this.  Whether you believe in God or not, you have to at least agree with me that we are all very different human beings.  We are made different, we have different features and personalities.  We also have different metabolisms.  Some people can eat brownies all day long and never gain an ounce.  While other people like me (with a slower metabolism) can dream about brownies and then have to go put on their "fat pants" .

Well the man on this website is suggesting that the quickness or slowness of our metabolism is based on our blood type.  Which is why one plan may work for someone else but not so much for you.  He also suggest that your personalty also differs with your blood type.  You simply find your blood type and read about the many foods that agree with your metabolism.  There are also suggested vitamins to take and or buy.  I didn't buy any vitamins as I felt that I was taking all that I need already.

So here is my one thought......  If God didn't put it in the Garden of Eden......then He probably didn't mean for me to eat it.    I am sorry to tell you...........McDonald's,  Sonic, Krispy Kreme and not even KFC was in the Garden of Eden....I checked..... :) 

It was easy for me to say goodbye to all of these fast food restaurants because of my allergies.  I just simply cannot have anything they offer on the menu.  If it has flour, eggs, or dairy in them.....I cannot eat it. 

My diet consits of Chicken (only breasts, baked very plain no oils),  Fish (baked with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking, salt and pepper, and dill to taste) all the FRESH fruits and veggies I can eat, baked potatoes with salt and pepper only, brown rice, one glass of green tea with honey to sweeten, and as a special treat I will eat sunflower seeds or almonds.  Because of my egg allergy I drink one dairy free, egg free, wheat free, protein drink a day. I don't eat anything processed and only eat single ingredient foods....I know it sounds pretty dull right.  Well as dull as it sounds, with everything I had to take out of my diet I had to change my mindset.  I can no longer eat for fun.  I must eat for fuel.  ( I know this is getting long but stay with me I am coming to a close)  Which is why I don't consider this being a "diet"  it's a new life style.

Sure I was depressed and I cried over the fact that I will never have another birthday cake again, and to enjoy a meal with a bunch of friends is pretty much something that just won't happen.  That in itself was very sad for me.   I also knew that I had three babies who needed their mommy, and not only needed her there, but needed her to be an example.

The first two weeks of this new life style was horrible!!!!  My head was pounding, I was nauseated, I was very HUNGRY!!!  Knowing this was the only way that I was going to feel better I kept it up.   By week three it got easier and by week four....I couldn't believe how good I felt.  I eat all day long but only eat the things that are going to fuel my body.  This being said, my one suggestion is to know your food.  Know what is in it. Look at it and say, "how is this going to help my body function?  What is this going to do for me"  If you cannot answer that question....look it up.    My husband rolls his eyes at me every morning because I say, "pears are essential in a woman's diet, so I must eat one"  :)  I know that turnips have folic acid in them which helps cells replicate normaly and also helps to make SAMe which affects, and may even improve, your mood.  Folic acid is also found in wheat, and red meats which I cannot eat so it is essential that I get it somewhere else.  Cauliflower is good for fighting and reducing the risk of cancer, as are many other fruits and veggies.  Grapes, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, pomogranete and so many more, all are full of antioxidints.  Which to a germ-a-phobic like myself, is something that I won't pass up.  All you ladies struggling with PMS.....try adding shimp to your diet, helps with irritabily mood swings and water retention.  I could go on all day, it is something that I have developed a passion for.   However, knowing that this all may bore you, I will stop and let you do your own research. :)  One last thing on this subject though, wheat is very important in your diet.  I cannot tolorate it, but if you can I am in no way implying that you need to take it out of your diet.  Eat lots of it, it is good for you!!

I am in no way suggesting that if you do this then you will live forever and never get sick and look like barbie for the rest of your life, but I know how I felt three months ago and I know  how I feel now and I hope and pray that I never go back to my old ways of eating.

I leave you with one little note.  I Corinthians 3:16,17 says, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred and you are that temple"  We are put here for a purpose, how can we do that purpose if we are feeding ourselves with the wrong fuel. Fuel that is going to harm us, not help us.  Fuel that will make us sick not better.  Think of it this way.  If diesel was cheaper than gas you wouldn't put it in your car instead .  You wouldn't get very far before your engine decided not to work.  If that is all you ever put in your car then you car wouldn't last too long at all.  Same with our food choice.  Just because it is faster and cheaper doesn't mean that it is the best thing for you, and it's only just a matter of time before your "engine" quits working properly.  God put good nutirtious food here for us to eat.  It is all we need.  Your mind is telling you different,   but I promise you, it's all you need. 

Oh yea :)) Here is the website......   http://www.dadamo.com/

Happy New Year..........

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Well not just yet, but almost.  As a mother of three I am constantly failing in every aspect of my life.  I am failing as a mother, as a wife, as a follower of God.  I set these standards for myself that are not reachable, and when I fail to achieve them....then I consider myself a "failure". 

Every year we all sit down to make those "New Years Resolutions"  I have made and broken so many.  One year I was "not going to lose my temper "  Then on new years day as everyone just sat around and watched me clean up the mess that was made from the night before......well you can just imagine how long that one lasted.    Another year I was "going to lose 50+ lbs"  then half way through that year we discovered baby number three was on the way and I ended up gaining 50 lbs instead.  Another year I was "going to be the noble woman" Yea right!!  I mean really, have you read about this woman in Proverbs 31???      "She gets up while it is still dark,...."  that characteristic alone would have to take a miracle for me !!! Another year I was "going to be the perfect mom"  I mean really???  Is there such a thing???  All of these resolutions are not reachable!!   I ended up wasting the whole year focusing on the impossible that I didn't see all of the blessings in front of me. Worrying about all of the things that  I needed to change, that I made no progress at all.

I have written a song about this.  It's about how we pray to God to change all of the little things in our life so that we could be "happy" ........... "God if you would just make my children more grateful then I wouldn't lose my temper as much"  "Dear God, if you would just give us a bigger house then i could have my own space and I could spend more time seeking You in peace"  "Dear God don't even get me started on that husband of mine!!! You and me both know that he is the problem not me!!"  "Dear God I am telling you what is making me so miserable!!!  Now I need You to fix it so that I can be happy!!" 

Here is what God said....."I gave you a roof over your head with running water, I gave you three beautiful children.  I gave you a hard working husband so that you could stay home with these children and fulfill your purpose as a mother.  If all of My "BLESSINGS"  are making you miserable then I guess you will have to keep walking around that same mountain until you see your "burdens" as "blessings"  because I am not going to change a thing that I gave you.  The mistake is not with Me, it is with your perspective.   Your children are not grateful because they are watching how ungrateful you are"

God is not going to change your mountain......He is using your mountain to change you.....maybe like me, the one thing that you need to change about yourself this year is your perspective...

Happy New Year to all,...... and my new years resolution is.......to keep on walking until I get there. Without complaining, without question and always finding and enjoying the blessings along the way.......:)

My little song bird.......or not...........

Well folks there she is.  That is my Anna.  All dressed up and doing her thing for the Christmas program at our church.  Anna had a small speaking part and she was to sing with the rest of the kiddos in the choir.

I am a music person.  I sing (A Lot) I play the piano, mostly by ear.  I love to harmonize and teach harmony and this year God has called me to do something new.  I have been writing my own music to sing for the church.  (I may or may not share that with you later)    My job for the kids Christmas program is to teach the kids the music.  Now to do this I must lay all of my "perfection" aside and just have fun.  Kids are cute and Christmas programs are to be cute right?

When I married my husband and heard his version of several songs I knew there was going to be a 50:50 chance that our kids could sing.  Anna has the musical heart of her mother and the voice of her daddy. 

So picture this.  Small  church, filled up with grandparents all ready to see their grandkids shine.  This is their moment.  Their time to shine.  The music starts.  My hands come up to bring them in right where they are suppose to sing and then out of the far left corner is one child singing very loudly, and by very loudly I mean this is the only child you can hear and it is more like shouting. So loudly that some of the older kids quit singing and started to chuckle.  I don't think this child hit one note right. Who is this child and why is he/she screaming???!!!  This is not how we rehearsed this!!  I turn away from my focus of the music for one split second so that I could see who in the world was making all of that NOISE!!!  Imagine the look on my face when I realized that this child singing with every ounce of heart she had, not hitting one right note or even coming close to it. Missing all of the cues, and at some parts of the song she was the only one singing, was none other than my own little Anna.  After a while her little face was turning red because she was singing so hard.

I have to admit I ,at that moment, wanted to put my finger to my lips to tell her to quiet down.  I, at that moment, wanted to stop the music and tell her to just stand there and look pretty.  I know I know what an awful mom I am!!!  "Just leave her alone", you say, "just let her sing".  "bless her little heart"   But I am the musical person.  My kids are supposed to be musical too.  We are suppose to be just like the "Osmond's" or the "Partridge Family" . We were suppose to all sing in perfect harmony while Daddy ran the sound.  At that moment I felt like she was Mumble, the penguin on "happy feet" who (by judging the talent of his parents) was destined to be a great singer. Only, when he tried to find his song, a horrible noise came out instead and shocked everyone. 

As I was trying to block all of this out of my mind and focus on the task at hand, God reminded me of something.  Psalms 100:1  "Make a joyful NOISE unto the Lord...."   Well a noise was exactly what she was making, but then I realized something.  Anna doesn't know that she can't sing.  Anna doesn't know that singing isn't her gift.  Anna does know however, that she loves God and she taught us all a lesson that night.  She was singing with a joyful heart.  She got on stage and sang all the wrong notes with every ounce of heart God gave her, which is what we are suppose to do.............and the whole time.....God heard it in perfect harmony............
                                                                               

Carnitine What????

I would like to introduce you to Anna.  Anna is my first born and the one that put me to the test as a mother.    I am a soft spoken person who lets people walk all over me.  This is a poor quality to have as a mother, and God knew that this  was the one thing that needed to change in me when He gave me Anna.

I am writing this blog because you may be going through the same thing and maybe just maybe this can encourage you or you can encourage me.

When Anna was born she was very healthy.  Her doctor appointments for the first year went great.  I would leave the doctor thinking, "I soooo have this mom thing figured out!!"  When Anna turned a year old she would wake up vomiting.  She would do this for about an hour and then just lay around for another hour.  Then she would get up and play as if nothing was wrong.  This happened on an average of once a month.  I started to get concerned when I noticed this was not something that was going away so I made a doctor appointment.  I was very quickly blown off as a "first time inexperienced mom" and was told that she probably had a virus and to just keep her fluids up. 

I soon began to notice that she couldn't hold any kind of sugar drinks in her system for a long time.  One glass of juice meant one exploded diaper.  As these "episodes" went on and on we continued to waste more time with doctors who said it was a virus and to increase her liquids. We very soon moved on to another doctor who would listen to us.  She was just what we needed to get our answer. She saw Anna once during these episodes and sent her straight to the specialists.

The older she got the worse the "episodes" were.  I remember a time when she vomited 10 times in one hour and after calling her doctor several times we were advised to take her to the E.R. Anna was 3 years old at the time.  Of course by the time that the doctors saw us in the E.R. her "episode" was over and we were quickly sent home.  By this time we had already been seen by an endocrinologist who had cleared her of diabetes, but by testing her for diabetes we noticed that her sugar levels during these episodes were at the lowest 59 and highest 64.  For anyone who doesn't know, your fasting sugar should be around 90 to 100.  So then we were sent to a Metabolic Specialist.  The only one left in the state.  He had is own doctor bag and refused to use any of the tools on the wall.  You know the ones that they use to look into your throat and your ears.  Well when he pulled a huge flash light out of his bag and told Anna to say "ahhhh"  I knew we were in the wrong place!!! 

I put all of her symptoms together and made the choice that she needed to be with a gastrointerologist.   When we came to that appointment I felt a peace.  I knew we were where needed to be.  I explained the symptoms and she wasted no time eliminating things.  Anna was scheduled for a biopsy of her esophagus, stomach, and intestine.  Results came back normal.  Anna then went through what seemed like an endless amount of blood work all results came back normal.  She then went in for a lower G.I.........normal

During this time it was like I could feel everyone saying behind my back "see I told you nothing was wrong with her daughter.  she is just over exaggerating all of this"  I had so many doctors shove me out of the office I was getting discouraged!!  You don't want anything to be wrong with your kids but when you know something is wrong....well you kind of hope something comes back "not normal" so that you have your answer.

The last thing that the doctor suggested is that we wait for an "episode" and rush her to the nearest hospital and get blood work during that episode.

Finally that day came.  She woke up, sugar in the low 60's, then starts to vomit.  We loaded up in the car and headed to the hospital.  This is where God showed me just how a momma bear can fight.  We only had a limited amount of time to get these test. If you remember these tests had to be taking during an "episode" which usually lasted two hours.  So I was not about to wait an hour or more to see someone.  We blow into the E.R and I said, "I need to get labs done on her, and I need to get them done now!!"  Admissions did their best to get us through but our trouble was with the lab tech.  She, of course, was with someone, and I guess that they only have one person in that hospital that can draw blood.  I knocked on the door and she came out and said , "you will have to wait"  Looking back I don't know where this came from other than God, because normally I would have said, "okay we will be right over here" but instead I said "NO!  You are going to listen to me, we have 4 years worth of research invested in this child and a limited amount of time for you to get these test run before we come to the point where we have wasted our time!!!"  She slammed that door in my face and just lucky enough for us some well dressed man came down the hall (I am guessing he was the big dawg of the hospital) and I guess that I had made such a scene , he asked was everything okay.  Before I knew it there were three women ready to take her blood.  She had seven tubes of blood drawn that day.  I remained strong throughout all of this, but at that point I broke down.  I had never cried in front of her but that day I did.  She was so dehydrated they couldn't find a vein and when they finally found one she had cried so much she had nothing left in her to fight with.  She just layed there an looked at the ceiling.  I guess the worse part of all of it is when her doctor asked her at the next appointment if she remembered being sick and going to the hospital she said "No"    I guess it is good that she has no recollection of all of that, but at the same time it was alittle scary for me.

So a month later the phone call came. The call that we had been fighting for now for four years.  A blood test came back abnormal.  Anna had a Primary Carnitine Deficiency (PCD)  With one phone call Anna became 1 in 40,000, and the other two (one being unborn)  were sucked into it as well when we were told it was genetic.  Turns out the mother and father have to have one specific gene each in order to pass this on.

So what exactly is a PCD well,  Her doctor really couldn't tell me.  See she is a Gastro doctor and the doctor we needed was a Metabolic Specialist.  But she explained it as Anna's body breaks down fat but it isn't turned to energy and is isn't taken out of her body as it has to be attached to carnitine (which the normal body makes on it's own) in order to leave her body.  So her fat is burned and then the "ashes", if you will, sit there and become toxic causing her body to go through a metabolic shock.  Her sugar drops she starts to vomit and do anything and everything to get rid of it.

When reading about this we found out that PCD is also mistaken for SIDS.  That the dangers of this is that the sugar can get so low and the right amount of glucose isn't made to bring it back up on it's own and without hospital treatment could be fatal.  We also read that a stomach flu or any illness that causes her not to eat for a long period of time can be fatal.  Without carnitine major organs start to shut down as the fat that isn't carried out of the body starts to attach itself to the heart, kidneys, pancreas.... the list goes on and on.  Not something you want to meditate on but it was what made up our mind that homeschooling was more than likely the best choice for us.

Anna is on a carnitine medicine right now and we have noticed a huge difference in her.  Her energy level was the biggest adjustment that we have had to make.  From the time she is awake to the time she goes down she is nonstop!!  She use to keep dark circles under her eyes that are gone now too.    We have just completed her first full year on her meds and she has had a total of two episodes this year.  Her doctor is very pleased with the way her body has accepted her medicine.  Her dad and I are very grateful to God for the push that we needed, daily to get her to that answer.

It amazes me how great God is.  Imagine being the parent of a child who has something that only 1 in 40,000 people have and in order for her to have it you and your husband have to have one specific gene.  She is a very special child as are all of our children.  I look back on all of the times when I had no clue or thought to even check her sugar.  She was so small.  I cringe at the number of times her sugar may have dropped during the night and I didn't know.  She could have been taken away from us at any given time because of our unknown to even keep an eye on her sugar levels........ but she wasn't........ Someone else was watching her sugar and glucose for me.  That same Person kept pushing me to get that answer, that we needed, to help her.  When others told me nothing was wrong, this Person reminded me of all of the things that were not right.  I am forever grateful to God for Anna.   God chose us..........

                                                                              

Christmas

How true is this cartoon???  We are a "one income" family here.  It was a choice that we felt that was best for us.  It makes it hard.  We give up a lot of things in order for this to work.  This time of year can get really hard.  On top of all of the Christmas needs this year we got slammed with all of the bills from my recent run in with the local moron medical team who sent me home as fast as I came in without any diagnosis or test run but I'm guessing, based on the price they charged me for a 30 min stay in that bed, that Queen Elizabeth and the Pope once slept in it too.  Anyway I am getting off track here!!  Let me focus back into this blog.........

On top of only having one income we have made the choice to homeschool which is also very costly in itself.  All of the material we gather along the way, the teaching materials and the workbooks and the learning tools.  It all adds up and most of the time takes our family vacation away from us.  I'm not sure if we will ever "catch up."  Every time there is a light at the end of the tunnel we seem to hit a road block and have to go another way to find that light again.

With all of the choices we have made Christmas can be pretty stressful so we go a different route with our kids.  I never ask them what they want for Christmas.  I pick out something I think that they would like and it usually isn't the "it toy" of the year. As you can imagine with the rest of our expenses the "it toy" usually isn't in our budget.  This year we (I use the term "we" very loosely here.  We all know that the men in our lives wake up Christmas morning and just watch it happen)  tried something new and catalog ordered everything.  Nothing came from a big name store, and most of their toys they can play with and it also provides learning as well.    By doing this we stay in our budget and also I have seen that the kids have grown grateful for what they have and what they receive. I know what your thinking.  I am the "boring mom"  who buys her kids "boring toys"  but  our days around here are focused on learning and making learning fun.  That is their life style and so when we get a new "learning toy" around here it is exciting for them.

 My oldest this year is very excited about "giving"  She as been working since October making special gifts here and there for the special people in her life.  She has thought long and hard on what to get her brother and sister and daddy for Christmas.  I am so proud of this "want" in her to give to others.  It is something that we will work even harder to establish in the other two children as well.  I would love to one year just give up our Christmas (toys and all) and volunteer at a homeless shelter.  I would love to  give up our Christmas money to a family less fortunate than us and make sure they get a Christmas.  I am like every other mom though.  I love to see my children smile on Christmas, and sometimes as I look at those less fortunate than me it makes me feel selfish. 

We also keep the tradition of baking  my Grandmas Christmas cookie recipe's and giving them out.  She was a very giving woman.  Her door was always open to all and she always had cookies to hand out.  She was called home a few years back.  I miss her so much but I know that I will see her again, and we were left with such a  great gift from her.  Not a gift that we can touch but a gift of memory and example. She was an example to everyone she came in contact with.

So this year let's not forget the reason that we celebrate Christmas.  The Greatest gift was given to us over 2000 years ago.  A gift that I received and you can too.  A gift that guarantees to me that I don't have to say "goodbye" to my grandma or anyone that I have lost in my life....but I just have to say "see you later,"    It's not about the "it gift. It's not about how many gifts. It's not about going into debt to make everyone happy.  This year don't focus on worldly things but focus on your eternity.....your "forever"   Reach out to someone and make a difference, show your children what it means to give, show your kids how good they have it..............Merry Christmas everyone........
                                                                 

Happy Thanksgiving.........

Well I was trying to think of something to write about.  Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I've got to be honest, this morning I was pretty bummed.  See we were all looking forward to a thanksgiving at my moms house.  The kids were very excited to see "grandma" and "papa g".  I was excited to have other people entertain my kids for five minutes.  It was a win win situation for everyone.  Well almost.......

A few days ago, due to the holidays coming up, I started to pray that God would provide me an opportunity to be a "blessing" to someone in some way.  As one thing piled on top of another and situations came up to make this thanksgiving not happen the way we expected,  I started to cry.  It wasn't suppose to happen like this. I was suppose to be in a car for 12 hours with the kids singing songs,  me breaking up fights, separating car seats, telling my husband how to drive.....awww it was going to be great.....but it didn't happen.  At all.

A few days ago I made it a house rule to recited the verse I Thessalonians 5:18, every time we started to grumble or complain. "In all things give thanks...."  I was reminded about this when all of our "plans" dissolved into nothing.  So I started to say it, through the tears.  After a while of reciting this over and over again, I stood up and said....."it isn't going to ruin my Thanksgiving"  I grabbed my oldest daughter and off to crazy Walmart we went to go buy our Thanksgiving dinner.  Without a plan or a menu we were doomed to fail, but who cares, "it wasn't going to ruin my thanksgiving!!!"  After laughing at the fact that mommy always picks out the cart that has only two wheels that work while the other two always seem to take you in circles, we found that we were done.  We had all that we needed to make dinner and we waited in line......the only line that Walmart felt they needed to have open two nights before thanksgiving. Finally we were out the door and on our way home.

Today I spent all day cooking.  Now one thing you must understand is  that I have what I call a "portion problem"  There are five people in my family, I am very restricted with what I can eat so therefore I made enough food to feed......maybe......32 people.   What I didn't realize before I got started was that God was answering my prayer.  A few days ago my husband brought to my attention of someone who wasn't going to have a Thanksgiving dinner this year.  As I was cooking this person came to mind several times.  Because I cooked so much I was able to give this person enough Thanksgiving dinner for him and his girlfriend.   

God is good all of the time.  If you want to hear God laugh tell Him your "plans"  I am so very glad that God gave us this opportunity to bless someone else this Thanksgiving.  Part of me would like to think that we were kept here just to make sure they recieved a Thanksgiving dinner, wether that be true or not it is neat to think about.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone........be thankful for what you have and make someone else thankful that they know you..........

Having babies is my Business

Okay, so let's talk for a minute about being pregnant.  With the newest annoucement of Michelle Duggar expecting baby number 20,  it has really got my blogging brain going on some thoughts.  So first, I have three kids.  When I was in the operating room getting ready to meet baby number three, one of the doctors asked me, "so are you trying to be like the Duggars here??"  Um...3.........19.....yes I can see where you would have thought that. 

When I was pregnant I was asked several, (for a lack of a better word to use here) stupid questions.  Here are just a few.  By the way, if you refrain from asking these questions or saying these statements to a pregnant woman, you will have a better chance on seeing tomorrow.....just saying.....

1.  Don't you know what causes that?????  Now I like to answer this one with, "yes and we are getting  pretty good at it don't you think!!!"

2.    Was it a mistake?   My answer for this is, "no, but that question you just asked was!!"

3.   Are you trying to be like the Duggars?    answer, "well my husbands name is Jim Bob so maybe"

4.   Are you sure there is just one in there???   answer "do you want the number for my ultra sound technician so that you all can talk it out amongst yourselves?"

5.  Your not going to make it!!!...........answer...."well then you had better go get some water to boil"

6.  How do you do it???....answer....."I didn't know I had a choice"

7.  Are you going to have anymore???   This one is usually asked as you are still in the hospital bed recovering......my answer....."would you like to be put on the committee to vote on this decision??"

8..Holy Cow your huge!!!..........um......thank you so are you,  only I am going to give birth to what's in my stomach and I don't know what you are going to do about yours....(this statement is, in my experience, usually said by men)

So lets talk about the Duggars for a minute.  I look at all if the above things that have been asked to me or said to me at one time or another and for most of them I can honestly say, it is only my business.  It is only my business, how big I get, how many kids I have, when I will go into labor, and how I am going to make it and whether or not this pregnancy was or wasn't planned.  As for the "don't you know what causes that?" question all I have to say is REALLY?????    Truth is God already knows how many kids I am going to have,  He already knows my limit. He also knows that I probably cannot handle 20 kids, but  as I look at the Duggars in amazement of their values, the number of children,  the good behavior of all of them, the stability of their marriage and their faith in God.  I have only one thing to say.  The world is full of bullies.  Kids that have no respect, for themselves or anyone around them.  I say if God has chosen this family to bring and release into the world, 20 or more, good, respectable, God fearing, helpful, full of heart, love, and kindness, polite, quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry EXAMPLES for us to learn from.  Then who are we to argue with that.  Don't criticize how many kids they have.  That is their business not yours.  And here is the big finale are you ready.......They are doing a much better job at raising their 20 then most of us are doing raising our one.  So don't judge,  instead observe them and see how we can change our ways our children and our marriges, the future of America is in trouble and only we can change that!  Raise the future with this in mind.....one day your life will be in the hands of the future you raised...........

At the mercy of Morons

I have wanted to blog for sometime now but the truth is I really haven't felt like it.  For the past two weeks I have had some belly pain with everything I ate.  It all lead up to one horrible, scary moment that sent me to the E.R and left me at the mercy of morons.

Now, I am one who is very "in tune" with my body and what it needs and what it doesn't like and what is going on.  I am a busy mom of three so I soon found my days, weeks and even months filled up with fast food.  Lots of grease and very little greens.  My body went into shock.  I was needing some vitamins some minerals..........heck it just needed a grease free meal.  You know, one you prepare and don't eat out of a brown paper bag while switching lanes and breaking up a fight in the back seat about "who stole my fries"

After I had my three babies, I developed several food allergies. With my first born it was, "surprise you can't eat wheat anymore!!!"  How did I find this out???  Trial and error.  Then I was in denial.  So I would sneak some here and there.  Eat some macaroni here. Eat some toast there.  Very soon it caught up with me.  Had some belly pains, couldn't lose any weight no matter how hard I tried.  My joints started hurting. I even found myself depressed from time to time.  I couldn't move most mornings.  I became and 80 year old woman with a one year old daughter.  There is a reason that elder women cannot have babies.........."Oh now honey you just wait a minute and mommy is going to mix up her Metamucil and be right with you.  Now where did I put that bengay??"

As soon as I got myself off of wheat I was feeling good.  Then I became prego again and all rules went out the window.  Anything was fair game!!!  I ate and ate and ate. Then I had my son.  Now all of the sudden I am allergic to eggs.  Now eggs were one thing that when I figured it out,  I was NEVER touching them again.  My stomach would literally, physically try to break them down to digest them.  It was a pain like I have never felt before.  A pain, that when I had it, my husband would have to come home and tend to the kids because I was doubled over!!!  I could, however, still have eggs if they where baked into things.  So I went back to my old ways of eating. Denying my "wheat allergy" and eating all that I wanted to.

In the midst of all of this I started feeling bad again and started to pray to God that if He would just allow me to lose some weight then I would have the confidence that I would need to sing in front of a crowd.  Now how crazy is it to bow your head in prayer saying grace over a donut..."Dear Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of my body.........."    Even God is up in heaven going........."Nourishment????  Is she kidding me right now?????"

So here came baby number three............guess what.........my dairy days were over!!!  Oh man, wheat, dairy, and eggs..........whatever!!!  I am getting some lactaide and eating a brownie..........."dear Lord bless this brownie to the nourishment of my body"   God is now hitting His head against the wall!!!!

So then what happened............I ate what I wanted to , asked God to help me lose weight and fight the cravings.  Now , have you ever heard the phrase "careful what you pray for"???  Because next thing that I know, after an endless amount of take out food and quick meals of hot dogs and mac n cheese, I was in the back of an ambulance with all signs and symptoms of a heart attack.  Chest pains, vomiting, numbness in my arm.  I thought to myself while waiting on the ambulance to arrive ....."this can't be it.....God can't be done with me yet.......I didn't get to do anything great....."  on my way to the hospital the pain in my chest would come and go and they told me it sounded more like a hiatal hernia....to which I replied....."yes I have one of those but it has NEVER done this before!!!"

I arrive at "po-dunk emergency care" where Dr. Doogie Howser  looks at me, did an ultra sound on my heart.  When I told him that I have never had that level of pain before he replied with .."ohh now..."  Oh snap I know he didn't just go there.  I said, "listen to me, I have had three 9 lb babies, three c-sections, my abdomen full of infection, and my gall bladder and appendix removed and I am telling you I have NEVER had this LEVEL of pain before!!!"  So Doogie decided our conversation was over  and he sent me home.  Well they were a big help.  Can we take some blood,  possibly a metabolic screening.  Maybe an x-ray wouldn't hurt since I felt like my whole entire stomach is in my chest enabling me to breathe correctly.  But no!! They went with , well her heart is fine, send her home method. 

That was all on a Friday.  So I spent the whole weekend eating liquids because I was NOT going to do that again anytime soon!!!  Even the liquids where hurting my stomach.  On Monday I find myself at the Mercy of yet another moron.  My Dr.  Yes i really think he should have retired several years ago, because now you have to come to him.  He is too overweight and in too poor of health to come to the patients rooms.  So now you come to him.  He poked at my stomach and said "you need to watch your fat intake"  ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?????????!!!!!!

I could see where this wasn't going.  So it was time for me to take control of myself.  If that is the best that the medical field could do with me, it was time for me to step in.  I took a stupid test at the hospital to figure all of this out.  I have yet to hear back from them or my Dr concerning the blood test that were taken.

Time for Dr. MOM to step in .  So i am now able to face reality and realize that I canNOT eat anything I want to.  I did have to morn over this.  I had to say goodbye to all processed foods, all cakes and candies, anything with wheat or gluten in it, anything with eggs in it and all dairy. I have even had to say goodbye to my morning coffee.  I have been doing this for almost a week now.  I am 10 lbs down and I feel.................hungry.........but that isn't the point right now.  The point is that with all of the fruits and veggies I have eaten I feel like my body has gotten rid of all the toxins that have built up over the years and I do have more energy and even my skin is starting to look better.

That was a long story to bring you to my final point (because I do have one)  ..............oh yes.........My point is.  You know your body better than anyone.  Your Creator knows your body better than you.  If you want to be in better health then ask God to show you how to do that..........and if I may make a suggestion........you should listen to Him and do what He says because if you don't He is going to get your attention sooner or later...........and it wont be fun ...........or cheep!!!!!

It's potty time you can do it I know!!!

Hello again.  As many have already heard the news of the day is my three year old is potty trained!!!!!!!  Go ahead stick your head outside.  Do you hear that????  That is the sound of one HAPPY momma!!!  Of course now we start the journey of "night time training" which is a whole new ball game.    But let's back up for a minute shall we??  Lets recap the  " journey to the potty" as I like to call it. 



Now I am a girl. I come from a family of girls.  My first born was a girl.  Do you see where I am going with this???  I had no clue where to even begin on potty training a boy.  I mean I was probably confusing him even more by saying things like "sit down, now stand up, no now you need to sit down, now stand up , now aim and fire!!!"  Until the "aim and fire" it was kind of like being in church.......  So I thought back to my daughter.  Then I had to slow down and think for a little bit  So I started to ask myself questions like, "now what are some similar goals that we have here that we had for our daughter.   Well we want him out of diapers!!  That is a good goal, lets start with that.  Now how do we do that?  We tell him to put it in the potty!!!"  This was going really well until i realized what I was about to tell my son to do.  "Son we don't want you wearing diapers anymore and we want you to put it in the potty!!"     Back to the drawing board......because with two of my three still in diapers, I can't afford a plumber to come fish out a diaper out of our toilet because i was not blunt enough to tell my son just "WHAT" we wanted him to put in the potty.   So again I had to collect my thoughts.  So we want him to use the potty.  Well now we should tell him just what you are suppose to do on that potty.  Now you must understand my son.  I like to refer to him as buckwheat from time to time.

  He likes to take his time with everything, and
 when he is in the middle of doing what he was told to do he...well had already forgotten what he was suppose to do to begin with.  When asked to do something like "Please go get your P.J's"  he replies   "otay"  then later it gets quiet so I go to check up on him and he is sitting on his floor naked playing with blocks.  I mean I would have thought by now he would be wondering why he was naked to begin with , but this didn't seem to bother him.  Not to mention the fact that his vocabulary level is just a tad bit behind.  So this makes it difficult when he needs to tell me that "he has to go" and I say "what???  I don't understa......... oh i see now..........yea ..........okay lets go change your pants"


So how do you take this beautiful child with these little challenges and try to potty train him.  Well  will tell you how..........we have a few motto's around here and one of them is   "If you can't figure out how to do it..........Elmo can!!"  That's right Elmo!!  I love Elmo just as much as any other mom (and I will let you figure out just what that means)   but that is not the point.  The point is that this little furry thing that has been three and a half years old now for the past 20 plus years gets more respect in my house than me most of the time.  I can tell him until I am red in the face what goes in the potty but it isn't gold until Elmo says it!!
 
So I put him in front of the television we watch the d.v.d of Elmo going on and on and on and on about the potty.  Singing these little songs "it's potty time gotta get down low, it's potty time you can do it I know"  and "Accidents happen( that's what they say) Accidents happen. They happen night or day"   So then Elmo even goes into what are the words for  "what goes in the potty"  My son chose to hang on to the word "poo pa"  and "pee pee"  Before long we were going through Kroger's as my son was singing about "potty time" and calling everything "poo pa"  I figured we were ready.  He knows the song, he knows what we put in the potty, lets get some big boy underwear and do this!!!  So we get his choice of underwear and he chose "toy story " underwear. "Here we go son.  Lets put on your woody underpants and you tell me when you have to go pee pee, okay??"  and he replies with "ooootay"  Everything is going good until i hear my son say "somebody poisoned the water hole!!"    He had an "accident" and that is how he chose to tell me.  Well he finally figured out the pee pee part so now we have conquer the "poo pa" part.....Now  I know that Elmo said "accidents happen"  but I think that there should be a time frame from the point were we call it an "accident" to the point were we just call it "too lazy to quit playing with your toys and go to the bathroom"  We offered him everything.  I told him I would take him roller skating. I would buy him ice cream. We would go out together and buy a toy.  At this point I was willing put a down payment on McDonalds  for him if he would just figure it out!!! 

Today FINALLY  it all just clicked for him.  I'm not sure on this but I think that I heard the angles in heaven rejoicing with me!!    So I said "lets go get a blizzard from Dairy Queen!!!, Mommy is soooo proud of you!!!"  to which he replied...."no mommy i want a sucker"  ...............well at least that part was easier than I thought it was going to be........................

So my advice to the potty training mommas out there..............ELMO!!! 

Do You Work???

                                                         

Okay,  so  if you haven't guessed by now,  I am a "stay at home mom"  or as I like to call myself  a "domestic engineer"  On a number of occasions I have gotten asked the question "soooo ...............do you work????"   I have gotten asked this by car dealers, tax services, Dr's offices, random people walking down the street.  I even heard this question come out of the mouth of Meredith Vieira during a segment about working mothers vs. mothers.............i guess............who don't work............that made me so upset that i quit watching the Today show, and sent them a little letter telling Miss Meredith Vieira what I do in a day (besides sitting down and taking the time to write a letter telling people what i do in a day ).  I like to think that she felt so badly about the way that she asked the question that she couldn't handle it anymore and she stepped down from her job to move on.   Truth is I bet she never received the letter and even if she did, she could probably care less.

So lets start from the beginning.  Before I had children I did many things, i was a waitress, a landscaper, and a bank teller.  Well not all at once that would just be crazy right??????    Little did I know that God was getting me ready for something bigger.  When I was pregnant with my first born and I held that little/big 9lb 7oz butterball in my hands I knew that i had to stay home with her.  I just knew deep down that this is what I was suppose to do.  So it was a painful goodbye and a hard decision to make.  I loved everyone I worked with and absolutely loved the good laughs we shared through out the day.  But something happened when I held that child.  I knew that God needed me with her. Day and night, night and day 365 days a year and even on that extra day in February when it happens.  (what's that all about anyway???)    I cried for the first year.  I never felt so lonely in all of my life.  I talked to myself and even started answering myself and then found myself getting very defensive about "what I do" .  I am glad to tell you now that I am very confident about what I do.  I know that I am right were I need to be,  AND remember all of those jobs I did before I had a baby??? Well guess what, now I am doing them all for FREE and all at the same time.  I am the grounds keeper, the financial advisor, the doctor and the nurse.  I am the mom and sometimes the dad  I am the server, the chef, and the dishwasher.  I am the teacher, the parent and the superintendent.  I am the maid who, dusts, cleans, and washes your clothes.  I am the counselor, the therapist and  sometimes I run the nut house.  I am the warden of the Taylor house, I am the judge and the jury.  I do floors and windows.  I am on call 24/7,  I get no paid holidays, no sick days, and no vacations, and I am raising the future of America.   But most importantly, I hand out love all day long.  I'm sure there is much more that I do in a day but .................I am tired because as a mommy the one thing I don't do a lot of, is sleep.  So that is my job of being a "stay at home mom"  NOW I don't have the extra stress of holding a full time job on top of an already "full time job" which means now, on top of all of the above, these women have to get diaper bags packed and get kids up early in the morning to take their kiddos to a babysitters, or a day care and pay mego bucks for someone else to do the above description for part of the day, then come home and start their other full time job there. And the single moms..................well God bless you !!!!  I can't even begin to imagine your strength.    So here is the bottom line.  I am not complaining about what I get to do.  I am truely blessed and praise God each day that He alows me to do it.  But lets show a little respect here.  I mean maybe rephrase the question from "soooooo do you work???"  to "Hello there, you beautiful got it together mom  with your way cool mini van and clearly rocking those mom jeans with your well behaved children.  I am quite curious......are you employed outside of the home???"   There now see how that just rolls off the tounge????  So if you are a mom and you are employed outside of the home or you are a domestic engineer like myself, we are all "working moms" some of us just have an extra job to make ends meet, but in the end we are a nurturing beautiful creation who were given a very special gift from God.  He chose you, to be their mom because He knew that you were the best one for the job :)..................................... Did I mention that we are raising the future of America??????? Your Welcome America, your welcome.
                                                                               

Adjust the Attitude to Gratitude

                                                                 




Every post I start with an idea, and as I listen to my 5 year old scream as I put her down for a nap, I started to think of another challenge that we all have as mothers.......Planting the right seeds.......... I realize that I have my hands full with her sometimes.  She is a very caring person, she loves to do things for "OTHER" people.  I know I am not the only parent out there that has a child that has two different sides.  I mean when she goes to other peoples houses, she keeps her hands to herself. She sits quietly, and only speaks when it is her turn.  She is very helpful, she does the dishes for others and even folds their laundry when asked to. She will sweep their floors, dust their furniture, and even help out with their yard work if asked.  Then she comes home.............and she is teasing her brother, pestering her sister, throwing toys on the floor and walking away from them.  I guess she saves her best performance for us when I tell her it is "nap time"  OH MY GOODNESS!!!  she is kicking the walls hitting her bed screaming at the top of her lungs...."I DON'T WANT TO GO TO NAP TIME!!!!!!  I DON'T WANT TO GO TO NAP TIME!!!!!"   This will go on for about 5 min and then ............silence.............the girl who "wasn't tired" is now so out of it that the world around her doesn't exist anymore.  Then I take that silence to reflect and wonder and ...........well............. mostly pray on a solution to this "attitude" that we deal with.  Many solutions come to mind, but not a lot are comforting......like "well she is a girl, and she is only going to get more moody, and you had just better accept it now"  or  "you think she is bad now just wait until she is 13 going on 30 or 18 and thinks she knows it all and does NOT need your advice"  These times scare me.  Then a verse is brought to mind.  Galatians 5:22,23  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control"    Wow.......... I mean really think of all of those "fruits."  Are we as parents really "planting" the right seeds???  Where do you think my 5 year old got her temper from...........that's right her DADDY.......hahaha.........The bottom line is if we are going to raise children with such fruits, then it starts with us.  If you want to plant the seed of "self control" in your child well then you had better make sure that next time your child breaks something of yours you just simply say "well it's just stuff. Thank you for coming and telling me and being honest"  instead of............."WELL IF YOU WEREN'T THROWING THE BALL IN THE HOUSE LIKE I ASKED YOU NOT TO DO 6,754.56 TIMES THAN THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WOULD IT!!!???"   Easier said than done I know.  And we live in a world where we are not the only ones planting seeds so don't be so hard on yourself.  The fact is that "weeds" are going to be planted.  Weeds of anger, hatred, tempers, jealousy, envy, gossip, slander............so much going on around us, in public, on T.V and even in  the music we listen too it is like a dandelion seed blowing in the wind.  It is hard to control all of these "weeds" from entering the lives of our children and even us.  So then now we have another job to do......Pulling the weeds.  Make sure to put a stop to the "weed like behavior" before it takes root.  I have my struggles with my children and most of all with my parenting.  We are not perfect parents and never will be.  We all are going to struggle from time to time, and even have to come to our child's teared up face and tell them that "WE" are sorry.  Mistakes will be made and we only wish that we could "wad them up and throw them away"  But we do have a perfect example and that is God.   So as I sit and enjoy the "before", my 1 year old girl running around with a book and laughing because when you are one everything is funny , and then look at the "after", my 5 year old girl kicking and screaming and disobeying  and her unwillingness to help around the house......i brace myself for what's to come, and pray that God gives me strength for when they all turn 18!!!! 

                                                                            

Mom Jeans and Mini Vans

         I have had three kids.  I am not exactly runway material anymore.  I'm not sure I ever was.   One thing is for sure though,  I am NOT now!!  After I had a hundred pound weight gain with my first baby and then a c-section.  Then a week later had my appendix and gall bladder taken out. After that two more c-sections that brought two more 9 lb babies into this world  ..............  Well  I can't tell a lie it just isn't pretty.  I really wish someone would have sat me down and explained what stretch marks were before all of this happened.  I was beginning to think something was wrong with me.  I was looking up surgeons that could fix this mess for a reasonable price.  (this is still an option) .   For now, though, I cannot afford such things. 

     As much as I hate the "damage" that has been done.  I would not trade one of my babies to fix it.   So for now, there is nothing much that I can do.  I mean sure there are things out there that you can buy to "cover it up".     Like girdles and who could forget the "spanx"  they start sucking in fat at the thighs and then as you get them up to your stomach , well, you are just "tucking it in" at that point.  Any of these options will work, I guess,  if you are not needing to breathe for a long period of time.   However,  if you're like me , then  you could wear, support hose, spanx and a girdle and you still can't zip up  your pants...........well I guess our only option here is the "mom jeans"  Not any ordinary jeans.  No, "mom jeans" come all the way up under your armpits and have a 12" zipper in them.

 I love how they advertise these jeans.............................by tucking in the shirt they let you know just how "high" they really come up.  And what is up with the legs?????   The smaller they get, the bigger my hips look!!    Now they are "mom" Jeans right????    Well then, lets get a "mom" to advertise them!!!!  I mean clearly this woman has never had a baby!!!

There you go!!!  These women are clearly "moms", and just look how happy they are in their "mom jeans"  So now that you have purchased those "mom jeans" and you have your three kids (like I do) there is an unwritten law, and I'm not sure if you are aware of it or not, but you have to get a "mini van."   Yes that is right, you don't want one, your fighting it because who really looks cool in a mini van right??     Then you look at yourself in the mirror wearing those "mom jeans" , and you realize...............you know what.......who looks cool in "mom jeans" but I am clearly rocking those so lets go for it!! 

  

 So you go mini van shopping.  Now ladies if you are like me and you have 3 kids, mom jeans ,and a husband who loves the "drag racing world" well then your min van may look something like this........

or maybe even this..........

But lets face reality right.  Three kids, a mortgage, and now a car payment better go for something not so "drag racey"

Well this may not be enough room....... I mean it may be "cheaper" but lets go with a little luxury right???       I mean, you are clearly "pullng off"  the mom jeans and to be seen in this, would just not be good for your, "looking good as a mom" reputation you are trying to hold up here.  However, when you are dropping your kids off to high school cheer leading practice, in you mom jeans, and this mini van...........well that just opens a whole new door of opportunities doesn't it????  

See there comes a time when we, as parents, must swallow our pride in order to embarrass our kids!! ...................but stay focused now is not that time.  We are trying to up hold our image here.............stay with me..................

 There we go, dont' they look happy AND coo!!!???l...............and look at the luxury!!!  That is great,  See because in today's world the reality of "living in a van down by the river" is getting more and more real..     So if I'm going to live in a van down by the river, I choose this one with a table........so i can play scrabble, because Scrabble is an excellent game to play with a 6, 3, and 1 year old.....

So bottom line is being a momma will stretch you at every angle and leave you looking..................well like a mommy, so embrace it......Everyone has scars, either external or internal, but they are there.  So stand proud all sucked up into your mom jeans and looking cool in your mini van and remember, doesn't matter what you drive ........ how big or small ...........God can use us all ...........

Same Parents............Different Kids

I am the mother of three beautiful children.  Well I find them to be beautiful because I carried them in my womb for 37 weeks as they grew and grew and GREW!! And I just knew that God would not give me ugly children after going through all of that "growing"  Don't even get me started on the labor.  Holy bologna!!!    I know God would hate for someone to go through all of that and then look at the baby and say "oh momma put it back,  it isn't done yet"  So yes all of my children are beautiful.  They all came from me and I guess my husband played a roll in it too.  (but that is another blog for another time).  So how did I end up with three totally different kids.   Isn't that strange how that works out?? 

                                           


When my first one rolled in three weeks early weighing in at a healthy 9 lbs 7 oz, and winning the prize of the biggest baby in the nursery at that time.   She was very predictable.  She slept for 4 hours she ate, then slept for 4 hours and ate.  Even her growth was predictable and still is.  Every year on her birthday she is a completely different size.  To this day I know when a tantrum will be thrown.  She is quite the drama queen.  The smallest things destroy her world.  But she loves to learn, she is very smart and God knew what He was doing when He made her the oldest because she sure does have this "I'm the boss" attitude down packed!!  All of her baby books are in order, her growth chart is kept up, her vaccines are recorded. Her scrap book from ultra sounds to first year are all done.  Then and extra bonus book of "pictures of the firsts" is done.  Complete with,  the first hair cut, first laugh, first smile, first tooth, first clap, first step, first black eye,  you know the "important" first you just don't want to forget.  Yup she was sooo predictable.  So why wouldn't I have another one right???  Because that was just too easy.  So after 37 weeks of "growing" here came 8lb 11 oz baby boy!!!  Well this wont be hard, he will eat and then sleep for 4 hours......then eat and sleep for.........okay so this one isn't going to sleep???...........well at least he's not crying........but why is he just staring at me????? what does he need?????   And with a boy I didn't know the rules........i am one of three girls...........can you hug a boy?.....I mean I need him to be tough right???  At what age do I start to tell him to "dry it up" or "take it like a man"  is he cute or handsome???    I'm not sure how this works.  Well he was our first boy and unlike my daughter, his growth was not predictable.  He came out wearing one size shirt and another size bottoms!!  To this day he is still like that.  His feet grow slower than anything I have ever seen.  He is the child that completely wears out shoes.  I have no idea what size he is in now, or what size he is about to go into.  I just know he is a "go with the flow" kind of kid.  Never complains just goes with it.    If  I put one of his sisters shirts on him by accident well it's all good.  Real men wear pink right.???  As far as pictures go........well I took several but they are all in a box and not organized what so ever and he didnt' get the special "bonus book" full of first...........:( The baby book is somewhat caught up. His growth is recorded, and there are some pictures in there.....Not so bad.  Just a little catching up to do.

  So we had a girl and we had a boy. We were set right????   Or where we???  After 37 weeks  of growth along came another 9 lb 0 oz baby girl.   So here we go she is the third one.  Okay I can do this.  Feed her then she will either be like her sister and sleep for four hours or she will be like her brother and look at me for four hours.........Oh no why is she crying????..................why wont she stop crying;............someone HELP ME HERE!!!!  THIS ONE WONT QUIT CRYING!!!!!..................  I didn't take it personally at first.........but after four months of the crying I thought,  "man she is sooooo disappointed in Gods choice of parents, I think she wants to go back"  Well come to find out this one is lactose intolerant and because i was a nursing momma that meant my dairy days were over for a while.  Little did i know, since I started to feel better after I got off of dairy , that I was also lactose intolerant.  Soon we had one happy baby + and one happy momma =  the house started to sleep again.    She just turned a year old so I am still trying to figure her out.  She seems to be happy where ever she is at .  Well as long as momma isn't too far away.  I took a picture or two of her.....and I purchased a baby book.......okay so i got alittle behind...........leave me alone I'm tired. 

So we have three totally different kids, same two parents and the only thing that was the same with all three of them is that they were all ready to enter the world by 37 weeks........  Just goes to show you that no matter how they came into the world, God has a different plan for everyone.  That is why no two people are ever exactly the same.  So instead of questioning why my kids are so different I am embracing it and trying to help find their gifts so that they can go out into this crazy world and make a difference..........I hope...............

So, here I am.  Let me just say I am new to the "blogging world" I guess you could call me a "blogging virgin".  I have read many blogs, and been invited to help out with one, so I didn't want to look totally stupid and have no understanding on how this all works. So alittle about me.  First I cannot spell so lets just get that out of the way and out in the open now.  However more important things about me is that I love my God with all of my heart and all of my soul. With every fiber of my being I long to do His will.  Sometimes though I think it would be easier if He would mail that "will" to me or if He had a facebook page where I could ask him questions like..."do I need to be concerned that my little boy doesn't want to play with trucks and would rather sit in a pink cradle and pretend he is a baby?"  He can't help it, he is surrounded by girls. Which brings me to my next job, I am a full time momma.  By "full time" I mean round the clock no holidays no sick time no weekends off, "on my own" momma of three beautiful children.  Sure there is a daddy in the picture, my wonderful husband of 8 years.  He works a lot though so I am on my own most of the time.  I have struggled with this but I know that he is doing what he has to do so that I can fulfill my next job.  I home school my kids.  By home school I mean we have the books. We have the worksheets. We have the humongo bookshelf that we built complete with a built in white board.  We have books and puppets, and all that fun stuff.  Why did we choose to home school? What other struggles do we face?  What and how can God use a simple woman with three kids?  Well these are all good questions that I hope to let you in on the answers as I go.   So, I guess I can say thanks for following, (or is that what they call it with blogs, or can you only "follow " on twitter?)  I am so out of the loop...........anyway thanks for taking the time to read and I hope and pray that we can connect on some level and what I have to say can encourage you and get you through your "mommy wars" :)